Saturday, September 3, 2011
I have a secret to share. I had never tried Red Velvet before working at Sprinkles. I didn’t even have much knowledge on this wildly popular flavor. Not a clue that vinegar was used in a cupcake recipe.
At Sprinkles, red velvet is their #1 seller; customers order them by the dozen, bypassing other flavors like banana dark chocolate. How do you pass up banana dark chocolate?! Now that’s a cupcake!
Another favorite of mine is the ginger lemon. It’s pure genius. Come in when I’m working and I’ll let you have my free cupcake for the day to try and I know you’ll agree with me.
Back to what this post is all about. (I get sidetracked so easily. I blame it on the lack of sleep.) Red Velvet. If you’re a red velvet fan, I’ve got a recipe for you to try. I took Paula Deen’s recipe and tweaked it a bit to my liking. I’m even thinking of changing up the vegetable oil and buttermilk ratio, so once I try that option and if I like it better than this, I’ll be sure to post about it.
I am ready for fall to be here. It’s pretty much my favorite time of the year. I’m also ready for the holidays: Halloween; Thanksgiving; Christmas; New Years. I’m ready. I’m ready for sweaters, family, food, gatherings, pumpkin spice lattes.
What’s your favorite time of year?
Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
Yield: 24 cupcakes
Prep Time: 20 min
Cook Time: 20 min
Ingredients:
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons red food coloring
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cream Cheese Frositng:
1 pound cream cheese, softened
2 sticks butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 (12 cup) muffin pans with cupcake liners. In a medium mixing bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cocoa powder, and sugar. In a large bowl gently beat together the oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, red wine vinegar, and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix until smooth and thoroughly combined.
Divide the batter evenly amoung the cupcake tims about 2/3 filled. Bake in oven for about 20 to 22 minutes, rotating the pans once. Test cupcakes with a toothpick for doneness. Remove from oven and cool completely before frosting.
Cream Cheese Frosting:
In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla together until smooth. Add the sugar and on low speed, beat until combined. Turn the speed to high and mix until very light and fluffy.
Thursday, September 1, 2011
It’s a sad day when you realize that you haven’t posted in a month.
What I can say for that is, this past month has been quite eventful and probably my best month of the year! I’m in LOVE with my internship. Who wouldn’t be? I get to bake and make the most adorable mini desserts all day. I’ve already learned many helpful tricks that make some of the more tedious parts of baking move more quickly and smoothly. All the gals at the shop are exceptional at explaining things along the way. The fact that I have to wake up at 4:45am Thursday, Friday, and Saturday mornings has become no big deal at all because it’s amazing being there. I come home covered in flour, batter, cocoa powder, and frosting. What more could I ask for?!
I’m also LOVING my new job. I’m around very tempting looking cupcakes all day long. The call my name my entire shift. It’s a true test of my will power, but marvelous all the same. Between the two places I’ve got about a 50 hour work week and it is worth every second of it. The downside of it all…I have learned the new meaning of being tired. I’m learning how to wear tired as well as I can!
Now the tricky part is finding the time to bake and be here sharing with the world what I am baking. I figured a good place to start and to get back on the wagon of blogging and giving The Sunday Sweet some love and attention would be with these wonderfully delicious banana crumb muffins. It’s another one of those recipes that if you have ripe bananas laying around the house, DO NOT THROW THEM AWAY! You can make these or the most spectacular banana pudding you’ll ever have in your life in a matter of minutes. Trust me, you’ll thank me later.
This will not be the first and last post of September, I can promise you that. I’ve got numerous ideas floating around up here that I want to experiment with as well as plenty of recipes I still have yet to try.
My next task at hand for The Sunday Sweet is to create a menu of sweets that I will be offering for anyone to order. You’ve got to start somewhere, right?
Banana Crumb Muffins
Yield: 10
Prep Time: 15 min
Cook Time: 20 min
Total Time: 35 min
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 bananas, mashed
3/4 cup white sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup packed bown sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1 tablespoon butter
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly line muffins cups with 10 muffin papers.
In a large bowl, mix together 1 1/2 cups flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In another bowl, beat together bananas, sugar, egg, melted butter, and vanilla. Stir the banana mixture into the flour mixture just until moistened. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.
In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, 2 table spoons flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Cut in 1 tablespoon butter until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Sprinkle topping over muffins.
Bake in preheated oven for 18-10 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of a muffin come out clean.
Monday, August 1, 2011
Welcome to my online bake sale for the OC Walk to Remember!
The proceeds of this bake sale will go directly to the OC Walk to Remember. The OC Walk to Remember is a nonprofit organization that supports parents who have lost a baby in pregnancy or infancy. Please click on the above link to learn more about them. I dedicate this bake sale and money donated to the OCWTR in memory of Strummer and Elijah.
I’m sure you are probably wondering how an online bake sale works. I’m here to guide you through it! It’s a piece of cake.
Below are 18 items donated by bloggers and friends for you to bid on. All items start at a minimum of $15. The bidding increments are $2.
- Bidding example: If an item is at $15 and you would like to bid on it, then your bid would at least have to be $17.
How do you bid? Send an email to me at thesundaysweet{at}gmail{dot}com with which item you are bidding on and the dollar amount in the subject line.
- I will be updating the prices as quickly as possible through out the entire 24 hour bidding time frame.
All baked goods are open to US Residents excluding the Chocolate Pistachio Fudge (that is only available to someone in the Orange, CA area).
The winners will be contacted on Tuesday, August 2nd. The amount of their winning bid will be the amount donated to OCWTR here. They will then email me their recipt from OCWTR and I will forward their info onto the baker. (I will send a detailed email to explain the payment process again.) The bakers of the donated baked goods will have until July 22nd to mail out the baked goods.
- Bake Sale will end Tuesday, August 2nd 8am pst. You have 24 hours to bid.
Thank you so much for participating in this bake sale for this wonderful cause! It means the world to me. Happy bidding!!
Please direct any questions to me at thesundaysweet{at}gmail{dot}com
~BIDDING IS CLOSED~
Chocolate Mint Cookies
by Cynthia
In Memory of Elijah
Current Bid: $40 by Leslie Ann
S’mores Cookies
by Kathleen
In Memory of Eljah
Current Bid: $50 by Leslie Ann
Raspberry Thumbprints with Almond Drizzle
by Eileen
Current Bid: $30 by Mike
Blueberries & Cream Cookies
by Nicole from HeatOvento350.blogspot.com
Current Bid: $17 by Wesley
Urban Legend Cookies (5 dozen)
(chocolate chip cookies)
by Katie
Current Bid: $17 by Vicki
Snickerdoodles
by The Sunday Sweet
Current Bid: $23 by Casey
Chocolate Glazed Golden Graham Cookies
by Rachel from TheAvidAppetie.com
Current Bid: $40 by Cynthia
Chocolate Hazelnut Biscotti
by Monica
In Memory of Strummer
Current Bid: $21 by Brenda
{photo via sugar & spice }
Chocolate Pistachio Fudge *Only open to bidders in the Orange, CA area due to the fact that it needs to be hand delivered*
by Kathleen
In Memory of Elijah
Current Bid: $23 by Natalie
Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Brownies with Chocolate Ganache & Salted Peanuts
by Caroline from SweetCarolinesCooking.com
Current Bid: $40 by Nicole
S’mores Brownies
by The Sunday Sweet
Current Bid: $40 by Diana
Triple Chocolate Love Pops
by Amber from ihartcupcakes.com
Current Bid: $20 by Dana
(purple basket not included)
Homemade Vanilla Confetti Cake with Vanilla Buttercream (2 Mason Jars)
by Breanna
Current Bid: $40 by Michelle
Fresh Peach Cake #1
by Monica
Current Bid: $40 by Michelle
Fresh Peach Cake #2
by Monica
Current Bid: $15 by Patricia
Michelle’s Starbucks Coffee Cake
by Michelle
In Memory of Elijah
Current Bid: $40 by Leslie Ann
Pound Cake
by Kristen from krisandkel.com
Current Bid: $15 by Mehdi
Nutella Pound Cake
by Samantha
Current Bid: $24 by Sabrena
Vanilla Almonds
by The Sunday Sweet
Current Bid: $19 by Brenda
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
I feel like I haven’t been on here to share with the world what I have been baking in months. Although, I think it’s only been a little over a week. Believe me, I have been baking.
Last weekend I made some raspberry breakfast bars that did not turn out. That one needs some fine tuning. Then, there was my first batch of red velvet cupcakes that I forget to add the baking soda to. That was fun. *Insert major sarcasm* BUT, I did remake that recipe with the baking soda and seriously I think my best cupcake ever was born. Stay tuned for a post on my amazing red velvet cupcakes. I tweaked a Paula Dean recipe, so you can already tell that it’s going to knock your socks off.
My life has been CRAZY! But wonderfully so. I am in love with my internship. Being in a kitchen and baking for 5 hours straight is a dream come true. Plus I got a job at Sprinkles! That starts next week. After this quick vacation that I am leaving on in about 6 hours. BIG SUR…here I come.
So here with are…with an incredibly talented lady, Rachel, from The Avid Appetite. She is guest posting for me while I am away. She made these delicious chocolate glazed golden grahams cookies for us to drool over. Want to know the best part?! She is donating these in the online bake sale here on The Sunday Sweet on Monday, August 1st. So if you love to eat and don’t feel like baking you can bid on these and donate money to the OC Walk to Remember. It’s a win win situation if you ask me!
I’ve got to finish packing…. it’s time you meet Rachel. XO
Hi, I’m Rachel. I blog over at The Avid Appetite and The Peach & The Pit. I’m so excited to be guest posting today at The Sunday Sweet! Dana’s recipes always make me hungry and she comes up with such creative and fun dessert ideas. In keeping with her sweet-themed goodies, I wanted to devise a cookie that not only packed a serious punch in terms of flavor, but one that took it just a step further in the creativity department.
When I initially concocted this idea and baked the cookies, it was a disaster. I used a chewy sugar cookie base. I also added marshmallows to make this more of a s’mores-like cookie. Let’s just say that I ended up peeling the cookies off the baking sheet with my fingernails. Note to self: Stock up on parchment paper.
Anyhoo, in doing some research, I came across Cakespy’s Golden Grahams cookies which used a basic Betty Crocker cookie recipe from a book that I just so happened to have on hand. Score! I made a couple of changes, added a velvety chocolate glaze and declared it delicious. Sometimes, messing up a recipe is the key to finding a perfect one…and here it is!
Chocolate Glazed Golden Grahams Cookies
Ingredients:
3/4 C butter, softened (1.5 sticks)
1 1/2 C sugar
1 egg
1 tsp almond extract
1/4 C water
1 1/2 C all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
Chocolate Glaze1 C confectioners' sugar
1/2 C semisweet chocolate chips
2 tbsp butter
2+ tbsp boiling water
kosher or sea salt
1 C old fashioned oats
3-4 C Golden Grahams cereal
Directions:
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. In a stand mixer, combine butter, sugar, egg, almond extract and water. Mix well. In a separate mixing bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt. Stir into the sugar mixture. Mix in the oats and Golden Grahams. Once all combined, drop onto a greased or parchment lined baking sheet. I used a tablespoon-sized melon baller. Bake 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack and drizzle with chocolate glaze.
To make the glaze, melt the chocolate and butter together (I used the microwave, at 15 second intervals. It cooks quickly so be sure not to burn it). Whisk together with the sugar and hot water. If the mixture is too thick, add another splash of water to thin out into drizzleable consistency. Get your drizzle on over the cookies. Devour multiple cookies immediately.
*Original cookie recipe from the Betty Crocker Cooky Book, inspired by Cakespy
Though I haven’t tried it, I suspect that you can also add mini marshmallows on the tops of the cookies when they are half way done baking so as not to burn the marshmallows. Add the glaze on top and enjoy!
So there you have it. A soft yet crunchy on the edges cookie that is packed with Golden Grahams deliciousness and topped with a sweet, chocolatey glaze. So what do you think? Have you ever used cereal in baking?
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
I’ve got issues. Loads of them. Just ask Mr. Wonderful. He’ll tell you there are too many to count.
I secretly like it that way. Makes me unique.
One of them is when I get a craving or hankering for something I have got to have it! I usually crave sweets or salt. And when I crave salt, I crave so much salt that I would be one happy camper if you gave me salt lick.
Not kidding.
Another issue is that I am really indecisive. But let’s save that for another time. I’m not even going to tell you about how hard it is for me to pick a favorite color, or a favorite movie, or my favorite dessert. Not going to happen.
I was craving these babies! My favorite. Devil’s Food. Pretty sure everything I put on here is “my favorite”. I can’t decide which really is.
These are, I’m sure of that.
P.S. I really want to do an online bake sale. Please help. You know you want to. It’s to make a donation to OC Walk to Remember.
Email me for details at thesundaysweet(at)gmail(dot)com
Devil's Food Cupcakes with Nutella
Yield: 32
Ingredients:
3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
3/4 cup hot water
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons coarse salt
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter
2 1/4 cups sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream, room temperature
For Topping
1 jar of Nutella
32 Ferrero Rocher Chocolates
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk together cocoa and hot water until smooth. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
Melt butter with sugar in a saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring to combine. Remove from heat, and pour into a mixing bowl. With an electric mixer on medium-low speed, beat until mixture is cooled, 4 to 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add vanilla, then cocoa mixture, and beat until combined. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in two batches, alternating with sour cream, and beating until just combined after each.
Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway though, until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool 15 minutes; turn out cupcakes onto racks and let cool completely.
Cut out a little center and fill with nutella. Add a thin later of nutella on top of cupcake. Top with a Ferrero Rocher Chocolate.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Last night I met the most lovely lady, Sabrena, the owner and designer of Dear Lola Letterpress.
She has designed (and printed) stationary & hang tags for The Sunday Sweet, which she hand delivered to me. Let me tell you, she is one talented lady! It’s such a delight meeting people that love what they do for a living. I feel so lucky to have come across her work. Hop on over to her website; you’ll be impressed.
A couple of weeks ago I had asked the question, “What’s everyone’s favorite cookie?” on my facebook page. Sabrena’s choice…chocolate chip cookies.
So I was going to surprise her with these, minus the toasted coconut, but then she discovered oreo stuffed chocolate chip cookies. I just had to bake them for her!
I found the original recipe for them on Picky Palate. She is the queen of stuffing cookies with cookies, or brownies with cookies, or cookies with brownies…I’m sure you get the gist of it.
So here I am teasing you with oreo stuffed chocolate chip cookies baked for a sweetiepie.
Don’t forget to go here for the recipe!
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
I haven’t eaten a snickerdoodle in what seems like forever. I forgot how delicious they are. That perfect cookie between the ever favorite chocolate chip cookie and the perfect homemade oatmeal raisin cookie.
As you probably already know, I love baking for birthdays! One of my favorite friends requested snickerdoodles and here we are, after testing three different recipes, the perfect cinnamon sugar cookie.
I’ve been on a kick for chocolate chip cookies with brown butter, but these have ended that and begun a new one. I even thought about getting up early and preparing a batch this morning. It was so close to happening! I was so close to setting my alarm clock earlier, but just couldn’t convince myself to do it. Sleep, it turns out, beat out cookies for breakfast this time!
Hmm, maybe tonight…if I’ve got time. I’ve got some oreo stuffed chocolate chip cookies to make for another lucky lady!
I’ve also got to pack for camping and meet Mr. Wonderful for dinner after his last basketball game. Beer and wings. Or, beer, wings and snickerdoodles!
Snickerdoodles
Yield: 24 Cookies
Ingredients:
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons gound cinnamon
2 large eggs
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place one rack in top third and one rack in the bottom third of the oven. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
Sift together flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt; set asides. In a bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine butter and 1 1/2 cups of the sugar. Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl. Add eggs, and beat to combine. Add dry ingredients, and beat until incorporated. Chill dough for 1 hour (or overnight) to make it easier to scoop the dough into balls.
Once dough has chilled, in a small bowl, combine remaining 1/4 cup sugar and cinnamon. Use a small ice cream scoop (size 30 works perfectly) to form balls of dough and roll in cinnamon sugar. Place about 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Bake until the cookies are set in the center and begin to crack, about 10 minutes. Rotate the cookie sheets after 5 minutes. The cookies will not brown. Transfer the sheets to a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes before transferring the cookies to the rack.
allrecipes & smitten kitchen
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Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Saturday I found a recipe for a French Apple Cheesecake that turned out to be quite the cheesecake, but that’s for later; this post is about banana pudding. Not just any banana pudding, banana pudding for my dad.
I had already made the cheesecake for Father’s Day when he told me that he would love banana pudding (his favorite, why didn’t I think of that?!). How could I say no?
Sunday morning I went to the market to get the ingredients and then it was banana pudding time. We already had the most perfect bananas for it! In fact my mom had tossed them in the trash because they were so brown and spotted. I discovered them and picked them up like I had just found buried treasure!! Which they are…just so you know.
If you have old spotted bananas, send them my way!
I couldn’t believe how these ripe bananas turned the vanilla pudding into magic while it sat in the refrigerator after putting it all together.
We have almost eaten the entire 9×13 pan of this pudding. We totally don’t like it. *wink, wink*
My dad had it before his dinner last night. That’s how much he doesn’t like this banana pudding.
Banana Pudding
Yield: 12 Servings
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 3 hours 30 minutes
Ingredients:
1 8 ounce package cream cheese
1 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1 5 ounce package instant vanilla pudding mix
3 cups cold milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 8 ounce container frozen whipped topping, thawed
4 bananas, sliced
1/2 12 ounce package vanilla wafers
Directions:
In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Beat in condensed milk, pudding mix, cold milk and vanilla until smooth. Fold in 1/2 of the whipped topping.
Line the bottom of a 9x13 inch dish with vanilla wafers. Arrange sliced bananas evenly over wafers. Spread with pudding mixture. Top with remaining whipped topping. Chill.
Recipe found on Allrecipes.com
Thursday, June 16, 2011
I was craving something sweet so bad yesterday, and while I usually bake for others, these were made for me. I had a major hankering for caramel sauce and remembered these rice crispies I saw on Smitten Kitchen. Anything with browned butter has had my full attention lately, and I just knew it would be a perfect match with the caramel sauce from Baked Explorations. Hands down, the best caramel sauce. Sour cream, who knew?!
For the Browned Butter Rice Crispies recipe, you can go here. I used Fleur de sel for the salt, but any coarse salt would do fine.
Below is the recipe for the caramel sauce. I made this first and let it sit to cool while I made the rice crispies.
Once I had the rice crispies in the pan, I spooned about half of the caramel sauce over the top and let it seep down. I stored the extra sauce in an air tight container in the fridge.
If you like extra caramel, like me, you can spoon some extra on top before serving.
Caramel Sauce
Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon fleur de sel
1/4 cup sour cream
Directions:
In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar and corn syrup with 1/4 cup water, stirring them together carefully so you don't splash the sides of the pan. Cook over high heat until an instant-read thermometer reads 350 degrees F, or until the mixture is dark amber in color (keep a close eye on the caramel at all times, as it goes from golden brown to black and burnt very quickly), 6 to 8 minutes. Remove from heat, and slowly add the cream (careful, it will bubble up) and then the fleur de sel. Whisk in the sour cream. Set aside to cool.
Recipe by Baked Explorations
Friday, June 10, 2011
Photos by Katelin Wallace Photography
Sweets by Me
Thank you, Katelin, for making me feel beautiful, confident, and comfortable with you.
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